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"A little sister goes a long way"

Film Synopsis:

Teen sensation Selena Gomez (Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place) teams up with newcomer Joey King in this delightful coming-of-age comedy based on the best-selling books by Beverly Cleary. Ramona (King) is a little girl with a very big imagination and a nose for mischief. Her playful antics keep everyone in her loving family on their toes, including her older sister Beezus (Gomez), who's just trying to survive her first year of high school. Through all the ups and downs of childhood, Ramona and Beezus learn that anything's possible when you believe in yourself and rely on each other.

My Take:

Author Beverly Cleary and her series of books on the adventures of Ramona Quimby and older sister Beezus (Beatrice) are familiar to generations of readers going back fifty plus years. This film adaptation seems to borrow a bit from each book in the series and features a primary story supported by several subplots. The focus is on Ramona and her mischievous imp like behavior which is a constant source of irritation to old sister Beezus. Ramona is headstrong and bright which puts her at odds with her third grade teacher Mrs. Meachem. At home she is a handful but always manages to put a twinkle in the eyes of her loving parents and doting Aunt Beatrice. When the impact of the struggling economy threatens to force the family to sell their home Ramona hatches a plan, as only she can, to save the day.

This is a cute and cuddly family film that has a throwback style feel that reminds me a little of Gidget. The effervescent characters and corny dialogue/situations work well within the construct of the story and never seem thematically disingenuous. I found its wholesome familial message to be charming and occasionally heartwarming. The cast, with the exception of Bridget Moynahan, seemed well suited to their respective roles. I found her to be just a little too rigid and thought that she lacked good chemistry with Corbett, King and Gomez. I thoroughly enjoyed John Corbett and think that he and newcomer Joey King provide some of the film's best moments, especially when together. Ramona and Beezus is a quirky and entertaining coming of age film that positively conveys the importance of family and the strengths of good character. It's an up beat and light hearted tween comedy that is perfectly suited for its target audience while having enough substance to make it enjoyable for their parents as well.

Parental Guide:

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

Audio: 80

Dynamics:

Low frequency extension:

Surround Sound presentation:

Clarity/Detail:

Dialogue Reproduction:

Video: 86

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

Resolution/Clarity:

Black level/Shadow detail:

Color reproduction:

Fleshtones:

Compression:

Ramona and Beezus comes to Blu-ray Disc from Fox featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 18 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3 Mbps.

This high definition video presentation looked great and boasted a pleasing palette of colors with eye popping primaries that jumped off of the screen. Fleshtones had a vibrant and natural quality that enhanced the varying tonal differences among the members of the cast. Boldly applied contrast added pop to colors and dynamic highlights to bright exterior sequences without white washing them. Resolution was excellent as images had crisp definition, revealing subtle delineation, and definitive long range visual acuity. Blacks were strong and depth of field in shadows and low lighting was appreciable. Sharpness fluctuated during a handful of shots but otherwise remained stable. I didn't notice any compression errors associated with the encoding and thought that this was a solid high definition video presentation from Fox. The multi-channel lossless audio won't test the limits of your surround sound system but it capably delivered the elements present in this soundtrack. Dialogue was tonally rich with excellent room penetration and defining clarity. Dynamics were punchy and bass response was appropriate and provided extension of the main channels that predominantly came in support of the music score. The front channels handled the bulk of the audio and presented a wide two dimensional soundstage with the surrounds supplying ambience detail that added depth. I thought the mix mated well with the source material and sounded just fine.

Bonus Features:

(HD) 7 deleted scenes with play all option

(HD) Gag reel - 3 minutes

(HD) Show and tell film school with director Elizabeth Allen - 7 minute featurette

(HD) My Ramona: With author Beverly Cleary - 4 minutes

(HD) A day in the life of Joey King - 5 minute feature

(HD) Selena and Joey: Audition footage - 2 minutes

Fox Movie Channel presents: Life after film school with director Elizabeth Allen - 22 minutes

(HD) Theatrical trailer

Bonus DVD of Ramona and Beezus

Digital Copy Bonus Disc of Ramona and Beezus

Final Thoughts:

Based on the beloved series of books by author Beverly Cleary Ramona and Beezus is a wholesome, lighthearted and cute tween comedy that is perfectly suited for its target audience and makes for an enjoyable watch on family movie night. I am happy to report that it comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox featuring excellent high definition video quality and crystal clear lossless sound. The bonus features package offers more fluff than substance but is worth a look if you like the film. Ramona and Beezus on Blu-ray is an easy recommendation for the Ramona Quimby fan in your life. If this is your first experience give it a rent before buying.

I'll be watching this as I live in the Grant neighborhood across from Beverly Cleary aka Fernwood School where Ramona was created It will be interesting to see if there is any references to this neighborhood, even though it was not filmed here, and Ralph I suspect I'll enjoy it as much as you did! . Thanks for the review.

I'm a big fan of the Ramona books, all of which I read to my daughter when she was small, along with the companion Henry and Ribsy books.

Ramona and Her Father, which was amazingly grown-up for a children's book, dealing with her father's loss of his job, transcended the genre - so I'm delighted that it's the basis for this film.

I snubbed this film when it was in the theaters, not knowing what it was or believing that it could be any good - but this review, and the consumer write-ups at Amazon, have put it on my wish list and in my shopping cart.

I'm a big fan of the Ramona books, all of which I read to my daughter when she was small, along with the companion Henry and Ribsy books.

Ramona and Her Father, which was amazingly grown-up for a children's book, dealing with her father's loss of his job, transcended the genre - so I'm delighted that it's the basis for this film.

I snubbed this film when it was in the theaters, not knowing what it was or believing that it could be any good - but this review, and the consumer write-ups at Amazon, have put it on my wish list and in my shopping cart.

Greetings,

Great stuff Phil. My recollection of this film has diminished but I recall liking it. Enjoy..!

Finally got this a few months ago. Was not terribly impressed the first time through, since I was comparing it to the Ramona in my memory from reading the books to my daughter 15 to 20 years ago, but on a second viewing with my sweetie, who wasn't familiar with the books, I enjoyed it a lot more.

And if you're a fan of the Once Upon a Time tv series, it's a treat to see the mousy Mary Margaret (as Ramona's kindred-spirit aunt) morph into the much more self-assured Snow again by the end of the film.